The Long Road
by TeamUnitedNerds
Summary: A story following the adventures of Ravil and Deni, as they solve a series of mysteries throughout the Dragon Ball Universe. It is recommended that you read the one-shot Last Train Home first, as it is a prequel to this story.
1. Chapter 1: A Bloody Good Tail

Deni woke up on the couch, alone, and was treated by Ravil to a breakfast of dry toaster waffles and orange juice with a suspect aftertaste. Ravil sat across from her, sipping from his cup of cheap, dark, scarcely sweetened coffee.

Deni devoured her breakfast with startling efficiency. This was to be expected, as Ravil had heard many stories of the legendary Saiyan metabolism.

"Sooooooo," Deni said, looking around, and trailing off, as Ravil sliced into his fried egg.

"Yeah," Ravil said, chewing and swallowing. "If you want to stick around, we need to get rid of that tail."

"Why? It's not like it's hard to hide or anything."

"Not the problem. If a Saiyan with a tail is exposed to the full moon, they'll be transformed into a giant, destructive, uncontrollable Great Ape."

"Yeah, sounds about right, considering all the other shit you've told me. I could just rip it off right now if you want…"

Deni popped the tail out of her pants, and reached behind her to grab it, but every time she got close to grasping it did, it involuntarily swished out of her grasp.

"Fucking pain in the ass," she said.

"Yeah, I was afraid that something like this would happen."

Ravil rose from his seat, and grasped Deni's tail tightly in his calloused hand.

"Looks like I can get a good grip on it. I could probably rip it out myself, but I'm not nearly as strong as you, so this could get pretty messy. And it might hurt quite a bit too."

"I'm pretty used to pain at this point," she said.

"Well, either way, we should take this into the bathroom. My maid doesn't get paid enough to wring blood out of my carpet. You should get in the bathtub on your own, and take off every bit of clothing that you don't want ruined."

Deni did just that, and by time Ravil entered, she was face-down in the bathtub, and completely nude. Ravil, meanwhile, was wearing a pair of faded, ripped jeans, and an old, stained tank-top, covered up by a "kiss the cook" smock.

"You sure you don't want something to bite down on?" Ravil said, as he stood over her, planting one foot on the small of her back and the other on the bathroom floor.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just get this over with."

Ravil dried his hands against his smock, and then, wrapped his hands firmly around Deni's tail. He proceeded to yank hard against it, like a farmer trying to pull a radish from the earth.

The tail seemed to be pretty firmly stuck in there, but there was still an encouraging creaking, tearing sound as Ravil pulled.

"Man, this thing's stubborn," Ravil remarked, as he continued to tug. Deni winced slightly, but besides that, she didn't seem to have much of a reaction.

There was a snapping sound, like a tree branch breaking off, as Ravil finally seemed to be making some progress. Her tail detached slightly from her backside, but it was still hanging on by several sinewy strands. Naturally, there was a forceful spray of blood, which spattered against Ravil's smock and the lower part of Deni's naked body.

"There, almost done," Ravil said.

Ravil really planted his foot down on her, and then, wrapped the tail around his hand several times, to get a solid grip on it. With one final yank, the tail came off, but Ravil had underestimated his own strength. He went flying back, hitting the sink, with the tail still firmly in his hand.

There was a second uncontrollable spurt of blood. This one was aimed in Ravil's direction again, coating the mirror, the sink and Ravil's entire upper body, including his face. The tail squirmed twitched briefly in his hand, before falling down limply.

"Well, that could've gone a lot worse, right?" Ravil said.

"Yeah, didn't even hurt that much," Deni said, reaching out and rubbing the bleeding stub on her tailbone.

"I bet. Let me bandage that up, stop the bleeding."

Ravil wrapped the bandage tightly around her waist. Clearly, he had done this many times before.

"So, what do you want to do with this?" he said, holding up the dismembered tail.

"I dunno. I kind of want to keep it, if that's okay."

"Yeah, I'm sure I could find a little box for it or something."

After Deni and Ravil both had a pair of clean clothes, and the bathroom was thoroughly scrubbed, they returned to the table to finish their breakfast.

Ravil took the last few bites of his egg, and finished off his coffee.

"So," he said. "Apparently someone in North City has a potential lead for me, but they want to meet in person. Now, it'd lose my job if I just left you alone in my apartment while I made the trip there, so you're going to have to come with me."

"Yeah, no problem," she said. "I always wanted to go to the big city. And if you need me to beat the shit out of someone while I'm there, I'm your gal."

Ravil loaded up his Capsule Corp van, which was more than big enough for the two of them, plus a few other passengers. He loaded up the trunk with spare clothes, cigarettes, booze, instant coffee, water, pillows, and some extra cash. The drive from East City to North City wasn't that long, but these mysterious tips always seemed to lead to something pretty involved, and Ravil figured he should pack a few days worth of supplies, just in case.

With the trunk packed, and Deni in the passenger's seat beside him, Ravil drove off, just early enough to miss the morning traffic.


	2. Chapter 2: The Big City

Deni was impressed with how smoothly Ravil was driving, but the last time she was in a car, the driver was a 16 year old gangster who was high out of his mind. The ride to North City was long enough to strain their patience, but it was rather uneventful regardless. Ravil parked them in a motel, where they would stay if they needed to. Ravil got them a room, and dropped off their bags.

"Alright, let's see," Ravil said, taking another look at the note that had brought him here in the first place.

"They have a designated meeting place picked out, and judging by where they want to see us, I think I know who it is."

"So, like, an old friend of yours?"

"You could say that, yeah. More like a friend of a friend," Ravil said, adjusting his coat and hat in the bathroom mirror, to make sure that he looked absolutely perfect for their night in the big city.

"Ready to go?" Ravil asked once he was satisfied with his appearance.

"Yeah," Deni replied. They exited the motel together, and made their way towards the city's center. A gorgeous night sky hung above them, a rare sight in cities like this. Even at night, the city was packed with people. Ravil and Deni tried to stick together, as they made their way through the sea of bodies.

Every uninvited gaze at her abnormally large body filled Deni with a mixture of shame and outrage. Her size was an asset, something she was proud of, back when she was in a gang, and physical strength was all that mattered. Now that she was in the middle of society, it was something she needed to conceal.

Eventually, they made their way out the other side, and the path ahead was far more clear. It was a short walk before they reached their destination, an animal shelter on the very edge of the city. The only thing designating it as such was a sign that said "animal shelter," and the muffled noises of animals inside. Besides that, it was an indistinguishable and dull grey building.

"Come on in," a voice said, as the door swung open for them. Ravil slipped inside, and Deni followed behind him. She was grateful that this doorway was just big enough for her to enter it without much struggle.

The shelter was filled with an overwhelming smell, and one that was almost unidentifiable, as it was a combination of countless animal odors. The walls were lined with crates of varying sizes, filled with animals who were either asleep or moaning sleepily. They all seemed to be fairly contended, but they also all seemed to have some kind of immediately visible injury or disability.

"Come, into the back, we can talk there," the voice said again. It belonged to the owner of the shelter. She was old, older than Ravil, even, with a wrinkled face and slightly somber green eyes. Despite her age, her violet hair had the color and the smoothness of a much younger woman. And, she carried herself fairly well, and was surprisingly spry as she moved to the back room.

She punched in a code on a keypad, attached to a steel door that looked more appropriate for a military base than an animal shelter.

The door made an audible clicking sound, and then, slid open, revealing a small room, with one table and several chairs. The walls were thick, and made of concrete, giving the appearance of a bomb shelter, which it may very well have been.

The old woman sat herself down at the table, and Ravil and Deni sat themselves across, as the door slid closed behind them. The room was dimly lit, its occupants could only barely make out each other's silhouettes.

"My name is Ravil, and this is my temporary partner, Deni," he said, feeling that an introduction was needed. "We're here because you promised us a lead on a potential case, and you said you wanted to meet in person."

"Yeah, I know who you are," she said. "And I know why you're here."

"Great, then we can get started," Ravil said. "What did you want to tell us?"

The old woman coughed. "Well, perhaps I should give an introduction of my own. My name is Mauve Cassidy, but I'm sure you know me as Colonel Violet."

"Ah, yes," Ravil said. Deni was silent, as that name held no significance to her.

"So, again, why did you invite me here?" Ravil asked.

"Someone knows who I am," she said, reaching into her pocket, and pulling out a letter, slightly crumpled. It was typed, so there was no distinguishable handwriting to speak of. It read:

"Dear Mrs. Cassidy:

I know about your history with the Red Ribbon Army, and that you used to be Colonel Violet. And if I know, I can convince others of it, too. I'm sure that your wife would be appalled, and I'm sure that the police would be eager to punish you for all of your past crimes.

But, I am merciful, believe me! I've given you a way out of this, and it's an easy one, too.

Give me the code, and I won't tell anyone. I'll destroy all the evidence of your past too. If you fail to do so within one month, everyone will know, and you'll never be able to live happily again.

It's your choice!

Love, M."

Ravil paused, drumming his fingers against the table. Deni felt like she shouldn't be here, somehow, since she was being let in on so many secrets. And yet, Mauve didn't seem to mind her presence. Maybe she could tell that Deni had some baggage of her own. "Do you have any idea who sent this?"

She shook her head. "No, it could be anyone. They could be someone who used to work with me in the RRA, or it could be someone who figured it out on their own. They sent me this a week ago. If they weren't bluffing, I have three weeks left before my life falls apart."

Ravil nodded. "Alright. And what's the code that the note referred to?"

Mauve sighed. "There's only one thing it could be referring to. General Copper, they want to know where he's hidden."


	3. Chapter 3: The Long Road Ahead

"General Copper?"

"Yes," Mauve said, sighing deeply. "He was the General me and Silver operated under. He was a very secretive fellow, even more than Gero. I never met him in person. Neither did Silver. Nobody did. We always received orders from him indirectly."

Ravil nodded along.

"Right before the Red Ribbon Army collapsed, he sent me and Silver a note. Typed, not handwritten. He said that he had locked himself away in a vault underground. He said that it was never to be opened, unless it was absolutely necessary. The note also had half of the vault's location, and half of the code needed to open it. Silver has the other half. Clearly, whoever's blackmailing me wants access to his vault."

"Do you know why Copper chose to lock himself away?"

"No."

"And do you know why someone would want to open his vault?"

"I have no idea. Honestly, that's all I know."

"Alright," Ravil said. "Thanks for your help."

"You can catch him, right?"

Ravil was silent. He knew he couldn't give a definitive "yes" without being dishonest.

"We'll try to the best of our ability," he said. "I think our main priority now is locating Silver."

"I have no clue where he could be, unfortunately. We lost contact after the Red Ribbon Army collapsed. He might even be dead."

"Well, your blackmailer knows your identity, so it stands to reason that they could find out Silver's too. And if Silver has the other half of the code, they probably won't bother blackmailing if he was dead."

"I hope you're right. Good luck, detective."

"Before I go," Ravil said. "Can I have your half of the code? And the location? "

Mauve nodded. "CE4782. I know it by heart." For the location, she scribbled something down on a piece of paper, and handed it to Ravil.

Ravil thanked her again, and Deni mumbled something that sounded like "thanks," before the two of them left, and headed back to the center of the city. It was later now, and the streets and the sidewalks were mostly empty.

"So, what's the plan, exactly?" Deni said. "I mean, besides finding that Silver guy, because I don't see how that'll help us."

Ravil's eyes lit up slightly. It had been ages since he last got to explain how his investigative methods worked.

"Well," he said, while the two of them walked. "Since Mauve received a letter demanding her half of the code under threat of blackmail, it's almost certain that he received a similar letter, or is about to receive one. The second letter could provide more clues as to who sent it, or, perhaps we could even intercept the sender as he delivers it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Deni said. Ravil wasn't quite done talking, however.

"Additionally, he has the second half of the vault coordinates, too. If he gives us those, we could locate the vault where Copper is apparently hidden. And we know that our target will end up at that Vault eventually, so even if everything goes wrong, we know we can still find him there after the three weeks are up."

"Alright, I get it," Deni said. "So, are we going back to the hotel or what? It's like, fucking, two in the morning."

Ravil shook his head. "We have a limited amount of time, and it's best that we continue our conversation while the facts are still fresh in our minds."

"Fine," Deni said. "But I'm hungry as shit. Is anything still open?"

"Yeah, there's a diner not far from here, it's open 24/7."

Ravil lead her to the diner's doorstep. Truly, it was the essential diner, the first thing one would picture at the mention of the word. It was bright, cheerful, and everything was either red, white, or silver.

A pleasant young woman with red hair guided Ravil and Deni to the nearest booth, as she handed some them menus.

"You should have the burgers. They're great," Ravil said.

"Don't tell me what to order. I'm an adult."

"I wasn't telling you, I was making a suggestion."

"Fine. In that case, I'll have the bacon burger," she said to the waitress. Ravil ordered an ordinary cheeseburger, and a coffee. The two said nothing until their orders arrived after a short while. Deni tried to eat her burger slowly, but she ended up scarfing it down in two bites anyways. Ravil took a bite out of his, occasionally, but he mostly just sipped his coffee.

"So, how are we going to figure out where Silver is?"

"With this," Ravil said, pulling a device out of his pocket. It was similar to a phone, with a keypad, and a small screen. "I can use this to access my agency's database. IDs, criminal records, fingerprints, stuff like that."

"How do we use that to find him, though? Like, there's not just gonna be a guy named Silver in your database, right?"

"No," Ravil said. "We have very limited information about what happened to the ex-RRA members after the army collapsed. We know that a majority of the living members reintegrated themselves into society, using fake identities. We have very minimal information about those identities, however. Obviously, we don't know Silver's either."

"Alright, and you're sure that he's alive, because otherwise the guy wouldn't have sent Violet that letter, right?"

"Exactly. So we can assume that he survived the collapse of the Red Ribbon Army, and that his location is knowable."

"Well, it seems pretty simple to me," Deni said. "You just need to look for records of a guy who looks like him from around when the army fell, right?"

"You're exactly right," Ravil said, sipping his coffee. There was a hint of pride in his voice. He punched a few numbers into his key pad, searching for IDs matching Silver's appearance and age.

"It doesn't seem like anything's coming up," Ravil said.

"So, what, does that mean he's dead?"

"No," Ravil said. "He has to be alive."

"Alright, so how come he doesn't have an ID?"

Ravil took another sip. "Well, most RRA members got normal jobs, but I suppose he could've gone into hiding. That would explain why he isn't in our database, because he wouldn't have registered in the first place."

"I don't know," Deni said. "If he's in hiding, that'd mean that he'd be really hard to find, right? For us, and for the guy you're hunting down."

The waitress passed by again, and Deni ordered another burger. Once again, her attempts to savor it went awry.

"Okay, so hear me out," she said. "What if, he like, got a job, but it wasn't a job you need an ID for."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was working in a gang, right? I was getting paid, but I didn't have any ID or anything. I mean, I wasn't registered in your database, right?"

"I think you're onto something," he said. Ravil changed his search from IDs, to arrest records, and from the year of the Red Ribbon Army's collapse, to all of the following years. The machine hummed for several minutes, long enough for Ravil to finish his entire cup of coffee. Finally, it gave him his result. A man named Sullivan McCoy was arrested five years after the Red Ribbon Army's collapse, for various gang-related crimes, including assault and murder.

"Hm, that's interesting," Ravil said.

"What's that?" Deni said. She leaned over to look at his device, but she couldn't make out anything on the small screen.

"Silver took on the identity of Sullivan McCoy, and was arrested and sent to prison for various crimes. Apparently, he was just released a few weeks ago. That explains why our target just went into action now. They couldn't get the password from Silver in prison, it's too well guarded, and the mail is all thoroughly checked. Whoever they are, they must be desperate to find General Copper, if they're willing to wait decades for it."

"Alright, so, we know his name, and that he just got out of jail. Where is he now?"

"That's the thing," Ravil said. "There's no information on where Sullivan went after he was released. There's a chance that he changed his identity again."

"So, how do we find him, then?"

Ravil ordered another cup of coffee from the waitress. This one was their more expensive blend, dark in color and heavily caffeinated. He took a sip, but to his surprise, it was Deni who spoke up to answer her own question.

"Well, if he's using a fake identity, someone must've given it to him, right? If we can find the guy who made his fake ID, we can find out who he became."

Ravil cracked a smile. He couldn't possibly be happier with Deni right now.

He plugged in one final search for his database. This time, it was for people convicted of producing fake IDs in the area around Silver's prison. Then, he narrowed it down further, to those who were no longer in prison at the time of Silver's release. He was given a manageable list of a few names, and since they were all in the same city, he'd have no trouble checking them all.

"Alright, I have a list of people who could've potentially made a new identity for him. Silver's prison is in another city, though, so we'll need to drive there. We'll do it tomorrow morning, I think we both need some rest.

They trekked back to their hotel. The streets were completely empty now. The night was still, but the stars were bright, and the streetlamps were bright too.

They made their way back to their room. Their footsteps were silent, everything was so still. The stars were suspended in the sky, casting their glow down onto the ground; the streetlamps of the cosmos.

Deni was tired. Her eyes felt heavy and swollen. It was morning, she could just barely make out the sun behind the skyscrapers. The stillness was interrupted, and the stars retreated, making way for the pale blue of the morning sky. The bustle of the town started all over again. People moved about, engines roared. Deni did not share their active spirit, not now. Now, she needed to rest. She closed her eyes, and she drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Like A Basketball Free-Throw

When she fell asleep, it was morning. When she awoke, it was morning too. It was a different sort of morning, though. The bustle had evened out, and things seemed quieter now. Ravil was already wide awake.

"Ready to go?" he said. Deni rubbed her eyes. She had no idea what time it was, or how long she had slept.

"Yeah," she said, forcing herself to her feet.

"We'll get breakfast on the way out. We can avoid traffic if we leave right now."

"I said I'm going," Deni said. Together, the two of them sleepily scooped up all their luggage, packing it into Ravil's car. Ravil thanked the receptionist.

Ravil picked up an armful of cream cheese bagels at the nearby deli, and then, they were off.

The city they arrived in was noticeably different than North City. It was less subdued and business focused. The streets were lined with themed restaurants and bars with gaudy neon signs. The people were slower, and more casual than in North City, and more eccentrically dressed, but they were just as plentiful. Deni felt a strange sense of belonging in this place, even though she'd never been anywhere like it before.

Ravil parked his car out of another motel. He dipped inside briefly, to rent a room, before meeting Deni outside.

"Come on, let's go somewhere quieter," Ravil said, walking along the sidewalk. Deni followed behind him, he was right about it being loud. The square was filled with a chaotic mixture of contradictory music blasting from the doorway of each bar.

Deni followed behind him, trying not to get lost in the crowd. She wanted to stop, and take things in a bit more, maybe visit some of the bars, but she knew that Ravil wouldn't let that happen, not when they had work to do.

They came to the edge of the square, and then, turned a corner, and walked down the sidewalk. Cars blew past them at illegal speeds, but it was much quieter here, and they could talk.

"So, we need someone who makes fake IDs, right?" she said. "What's your plan for finding them? You're not just going to like, ask around and get into fights with gangsters like you did with me, right?"

Ravil shook his head.

"I'll let you take charge here. You're more familiar with the petty criminal community, you're more qualified for this than I am."

Ravil called her a "petty criminal" in such an endearing and complimentary way that Deni couldn't be offended by his words.

"Alright, well," she shrugged. "The Moonboys didn't really do fake IDs. We mostly just dealt drugs, robbed people, got into fights, stuff like that. But, I do have an idea."

"Go on," Ravil said. They passed by a busker as they continued down the sidewalk. He was drumming erratically to a song blaring out of the low quality speakers next to him. Ravil casually slipped a few Zeni into his cup.

"Well, like, I'm 19, right?"

"According to all of my records, yes," he said, smiling faintly.

"And there's a bunch of bars out here, right? I mean, most of the people with fake IDs are kids using them to get booze, right? So maybe there'll be some counterfeiter outside one of the bars, and if they see me get kicked out for being too young, maybe they'll offer me one, or something."

She shrugged.

"Not a bad idea," Ravil said. They reached the end of the block, and turned back. Ravil slipped some more Zeni into the busker's cup.

They arrived back at the square. Ravil twitched slightly as the onslaught of music began pounding away at his ears again.

"Alright, let's see…" Deni said. She went into the nearest bar, with Ravil waiting outside for her. He kept a deliberate distance from the door, so it didn't look like they were together. He lit himself a cigarette, and waited. There were other men leaning against the wall of the bar, having themselves a smoke or a drink. Ravil tried his best to avoid eye contact.

This bar was quieter, created to evoke the feeling of an old-school saloon. Deni burst through the door, and immediately, all eyes were on her. She was too young to be there, but she could pass for someone older fairly easily. Still, she knew it wasn't her age that drew their stares. It was her size, and possibly the distinct moon-shaped tattoo that was still on her cheek.

With a few exceptions, all of the patrons went back to whatever they were doing. A few gazes still lingered in Deni, however.

She tried to make her way to the counter as inconspicuously as possible, but the bar was tightly packed, and she ended up bumping into a few chairs.

Finally, she arrived at the counter. She sat herself down on a stool, and faced the bartender. He was a surly man, bald, and bulgy. He had a grey handlebar mustache, almost cartoonish in its size.

"One beer, please," she said. The bartender towered over her, although, she would've been taller than him if she wasn't sitting down.

"Do you have ID?" he asked.

"No," she said.

"Then I can't serve you here."

"Whatever," she said, throwing up her hands. She got up from her stool, and moved towards the door.

"So, do either of you know where I could get a fake ID?" Ravil said, turning to the two men next to him.

"What'd you need a fake ID for?" the drunker of the two said. "You're like, 100 years old."

"Just asking for a friend," he said.

Deni felt someone reach out and grab her wrist as she approached the door. A man in a leather jacket that smelled strongly of dust pulled her close to his face.

"Hey, missy," he said, his voice practically a mumble. "If you need yourself an ID, I know someone who could help."

"Thanks," Deni whispered back.

He released her wrist, and gave her an odd sort of smile. "I'll tell them about you. You don't need to worry about finding us, we'll come to you."

Deni made her way towards the door. She tried to squeeze through the narrow seats again, but this time, she ended up tripping. Her large body smashed into someone's table, sending it flying along with the food and drinks on top of it.

"Fuck, sorry," she said, picking herself up off of the putrid bar floor.

The man sitting at the table sprung up almost instantaneously, as if he had been waiting for someone to knock it over.

"No way, you ugly bitch," he said. "You don't just get to apologize. That was my beer!"

He was young, the second youngest in the bar, besides Deni herself. He had dirty blond hair, combed unappealingly to the side. He had what could be charitably called a mustache. In reality, it was a wispy line of blond strands spread across his upper lip. It was clearly a feeble, failed attempt to look older than he actually was.

"Hey, I said I'm sorry! What the fuck else do you want me to do?"

"I don't know," he said, voice slurred. "Maybe go fuck yourself, for a start."

Deni clenched her fists.

"Keep talking, asshole."

All eyes were on her again.

"Oh, I think I will, bitch. Fucking…" he trailed off. "Fucking, what the fuck are you, anyways? I didn't know they made women that tall or that broad."

"Well, now you know, asshole. And you should know better than to piss off someone twice your size." Her words were more warning than threat. She could take jabs at her appearance, but it would be unwise for him to push her any further.

She saw his bleary, drunken gaze focus on the moon tattoo on her cheek.

"O-oh shit, you're one of those Moonboys, aren't you?"

The Moonboys weren't as notorious as some of the other gangs, but their existence was fairly common knowledge, given how unsubtle their crimes tended to be.

"So what if I am?"

"No, it's just that, like, I shouldn't even be talking to street trash like you. I know your type. A bunch of shitty punks, all mad because your parents left you on the side of the road."

Deni could feel a familiar anger in her veins. The frustration that came from being treated like shit, from being disrespected. She was so mad, and yet, it felt so good. She had no family, she had no home, but her anger, that was always something she could come back to.

She let her anger guide her. It was effortless. Her rage took her body downstream, she was just along for the ride.

Deni snarled, raising her fist. She wanted to hurt him, badly. There was nothing he could do, either. He was weak, and she was strong.

Before Deni could bring her fist down on him, Ravil rushed inside. He had heard the commotion, and wanted to de-escalate before anyone got hurt.

"Deni, stop!" he said. He couldn't stop Deni, not physically, but he hoped that she'd at least listen to him.

"You're better than this," he said. "Calm down, and walk away."

Deni felt her anger subside. She was almost disappointed.

"Fine," she said, lowering her fist. The blond man was curled up on the floor, whimpering.

"I'm deeply sorry," Ravil said. "I promise, this won't happen again."

Ravil approached the counter, and gave the bartender a similar apology, offering him a small sum of Zeni for the troubles, and for a bottle of whiskey for the road.

Then, he and Deni headed down the sidewalk, and back to the mote.

"What were you thinking?" Ravil said. Deni was speechless for a moment. She had never heard Ravil this angry before. It wasn't loud, it wasn't harsh, it was just low, direct, and pointed. Every syllable was perfectly pronounced.

"I'm sorry," she said. She paused, leaving her mouth open for a moment, before realizing that she had nothing else to say.

"I had to pull a lot of strings to take you with me. My organization wanted me to take you directly into custody. If you had actually hurt him, I would have no choice but to turn you over."

Ravil sighed. "Did you at least get some information?"

"Yeah, there was a guy who said he knew how to get a fake ID. He said he'd come find us."

"And you thought that leading a criminal to our location was a good idea?"

"Well, clearly I'm just full of bad ideas."

"Go back to the room," Ravil said. "I need to run some errands in the meantime. Make sure we have enough food for the next couple days.

Deni nodded weakly. She took all of their things back up to the room, including the bottle of whiskey that Ravil had bought.

Ravil was gone, and Deni was alone. She didn't know what time it was, but the time didn't matter. She threw herself onto the bed. There was nothing else she could do. The sky was dark, and the music was deafening. The full moon was out tonight. Deni couldn't recall the last time she had seen one. Perhaps she had never seen one at all. It cast its light on the streets below, but it was nothing compared to the glaring neon below. Almost unconsciously, she brought the bottle of whiskey to her lips. It tasted terrible.

Minutes later, Ravil returned.

Deni was drunk, and that was obvious, even to someone who lacked the peerless deductive skills of Ravil. She reeked of alcohol, the bottle of whiskey in her hand. Ravil placed his fingers to his temple. He could already feel a migraine setting in.

"Have you been drinking?" Ravil said. He didn't know why he bothered asking.

"Yeah? So what, bitch, I can handle myself."

"You're clearly very drunk, and we have a job to do," Ravil said, approaching her slowly.

"Hey, fuck you man. Why are you so concerned for me all of a sudden? You're the one who gave me cigarettes. I'm fucking 19, man. I could have you arrested for that. Now I'm going to get addicted, and I'll die of lung cancer at 20 and it'll be aaaaaaaaall your fault."

Deni took another swig from the bottle in her hand, as Ravil got closer.

"Please, lay down. We can talk in the morning."

Ravil was a good few inches away from her, before Deni stumbled over to him, getting right in his face. She jabbed at his chest with her finger, poking him several times.

"Hey, hey man," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Yes?" Ravil said, pulling away from her slightly.

"You want *hic* you want to know what else pisses me off about you?"

Ravil was silent, and Deni continued anyways.

"You fucking...like, every time I go to the bathroom, there's always piss underneath the toilet. Like, I'm sitting down to pee, and I step in, like, a huge puddle of piss. What the fuck is with that, man?"

Ravil sighed. "I'm getting old, alright. Sometimes it takes a second for my stream to get started, and it goes on the floor."

"Yeah, well that's the thing, right," she said. "Like, sometimes you forget to piss with the seat up, too, like, one time, I was sitting down for a shit, and I ended up with like, a whole ring of piss on my ass."

"I'm sor-"

Ravil was cut off, as Deni continued. "And like, the toilet seat isn't that big a deal. Like, I get it man, you're old, you dick doesn't work, like, I can live with that. Like, I know how to pee standing up."

Ravil raised a quizzical eyebrow. "How do you do that?"

"Okay, so, like, the gang I was in was mostly guys, right?" she said. "So, like, I would use the same bathroom as them, cause I was the only girl, so it didn't make sense for me to leave the group to go to a totally different bathroom, you know? And the city was a real shithole, and like, the toilet seats were all broken or covered in disease and shit, so I would need to use the urinal anyways. So, I learned how to pee standing up. It's not that hard, I just need to like, kind of, pull my pussy lips apart."

Deni was gesturing wildly to illustrate her story, and the hand movements she chose for "pulling her pussy lips apart" was particularly colorful.

"And, I just like, take a piss, but what I do is, like, I lean back a little, and like, angle the arc upwards, so it goes up and into the urinal, like *hic* like a fucking basketball free-throw. But like, it's really difficult to do, you know? So stop pissing on the seat, and start wearing diapers or something, you old fuck."

Ravil genuinely wasn't sure how to reply, but fortunately, Deni was still taking charge of the conversation.

"No, no, no *hic* but seriously, man, I just want to tell you that, I'm so fucking sorry. Like, I don't even know, sometimes I just-"

Before Deni could finish her sentence, she vomited all over Ravil's favorite trench coat, and passed out, falling backwards with a sound similar to that of a falling tree. Ravil picked her up, and dragged her into the bed. It had been a long night, and he needed to sleep. The night was warm, and the full moon was out.


End file.
